7 Key Foods That Can Help You Live a Longer Life

Everybody knows fruits and vegetables are the superheroes of the human diet, fending off chronic disease and contributing to a long, healthy life.

Beyond that, there’s a seemingly never-ending battle over which foods are longevity helpers and which are setting you up for an early dinner date with the reaper. Now, a new global food and health analysis has attempted to set the record straight—and, in the process, has vindicated some foods that have long been considered dietary villains, including dairy and red meat.

Presented at European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2018, the findings are part of the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. After analyzing the diets, mortality, and health outcomes of more than 138,500 people ages 35 to 70 worldwide for an average of nine years, the researchers identified seven key foods that were associated with a lower risk for premature death: vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, fish, and yes, dairy and non-processed red meat.

That is not carte blanche to subsist on sirloin and Swiss, of course, but the study does acknowledge that there is room for a wide range of whole foods in a healthful, disease-fighting diet.

Related: Take on a kick-ass workout designed to build strength and total-body fitness with Muscle After 40.

Specifically, the researchers found that those who consumed 8.4 servings of fruits and vegetables, 2.5 servings of nuts and legumes, 3 servings of dairy, 1.4 servings of red meat, and 0.3 servings of fish per day had a 25 percent lower risk of death than those who ate 1.8 servings of fruit and vegetables, 0.7 servings of nuts and legumes, 0.6 servings of dairy, 0.3 servings of red meat, and 0.2 servings of fish daily, according to the presentation.

When broken down into macronutrients, more fat and fewer carbs proved best. The people in the “healthiest” group consumed 54 percent of their diet from carbohydrates, 28 percent from fats, and 18 percent from protein. The least healthy ate nearly 70 percent of their diet in carbs, about 18 percent from fats, and 12 percent from protein.

“People who consumed a diet emphasizing fruit, vegetables, nuts, legumes, fish, dairy products, and meat had the lowest risks of cardiovascular disease and early death,” said co-principal investigator Andrew Mente, MD, of the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI) at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada in an ESC press release. “Regarding meat, we found that unprocessed meat is associated with benefit,” Mente says.

This isn’t the first time we’ve sung the praises of a cold glass of milk and a sizzling steak, either. Turns out, both food groups can play an important role in your workouts, too. Dairy products like milk and yogurt, which are packed with protein, vitamin D, and calcium, can help your muscles and bones heal, as we reported. Plus, lean meats like sirloin are also rich protein options, which boost muscle repair and recovery.

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